A few months ago i bought a 1994 FXLR custom low rider. Bike is in great shape and had very few miles on it. I've been riding without any problems until yesterday. I turned onto my rode down shfited ready to up shift but it would not shift up or down. Manage to get home i then tried to go thru gears but would not cycle thru gears. Looked at shifter and linkage no problems found. I then stood bike up straight for a while and checked the transmission fluid/oil is was fine. It had been siting for about 20 min. i then tried to cycle gears and they worked fine, went to first then to neutral took bike for a run and the gears shifted fine. Rode bike to work the next day and same thing morning was ok afternoon gears acted up. Going to change transmission and chaincase oil but still a little leary what happened and is it something that's gong to happen again and what made it happen in the first place. The only thing the manual said was something about the differential screen/filter that's under a screw it said that it needed to be replaced or cleaned every 5,000 miles no clue if it has or not or even if it could be the problem. Any ideas on what might of went wrong?

 

Could very well be the clutch and primary chain needs adjusting. Similar deal happened to my wifes bike last week.

BikerMonkey
www.bikermonkeyblog.com

 

I had the same problem with my "00 Fatboy. It was just the clutch adjustment. Another thing to check is shift lever at the tranny may be loose or stripped. It's not hard to check it out. My bet, though is the clutch adjustment.

 

Yeah - sounds like a clutch that's out of adjustment.

 

clutch has nothing to do with shifting , when bike is rolling.
that aint it ..

check your shifter for binds,
i/e with engine off , push it down , then let go .
it should spring back to the center position.
do the same thing pulling up on the shifter..
If it is slow or you feel a bind , check for bent shifter rod, shift linkage binding , and see if the shifter rod is loose on the tranny ...
I have seen many loose one on the tranny itself ..to the point of stripping splines

 

I've got to agree with this one. You can shift without using the clutch if you're careful about it. Something with the tranny is messed up. But it can't be too bad because it works when cold.

 

I just got my bike a few days ago, and it shifts hard. Sometimes harder than other times. All gears are there and it runs great. But it doesn't seem right. 1,2,3 are harder than 4 & 5. It has 2500 miles on it. Oil looks good and has plenty in it. Anyone have any feedback?

 

I hear mine shifting in the lower gears, more than the higher ones. I've never thought about it or thought anything was wrong. If I thought that, I'd take it to the shop and ask them.